The Dryad 88 The Duke's Men

As my luck would have it, it did not look like the men were going the opposite direction as me. Unless they were going to walk their horses backward. There was a part of me that wanted to slow down and stay behind them, but that would not do. Finding out if Ivy made it to my woods and was safe was most important. I conserved all my energy to make it to my forest as quickly as possible, and would not slow down my pace just to avoid awkwardness. I just was not looking forward to dealing with a group of twenty men.

I was only a few hundred strides behind them when they were finally ready to depart. It looked like they were waiting for me to catch up before they set off. I thought it would be best to treat this as a kind gesture. I decided to preempt them. As soon as I got close enough that they could hear me, I called out to them. "Thanks for waiting to depart until I was in front of you, it saves me from having to deal with all the dust."

It seems my statement caught them off guard. Though I was just now close enough for them to tell that I was naked and not wearing a green dress. At least I was guessing that by the look on some of the men's faces. They all just stood there and watched me walk past until I caught up with the head of the column. A man that I would have to guess was in his early twenties who was wearing slightly nicer clothes than the rest of them stared openly at me with his mouth open as I approached. When I drew even with him he said, "You are naked."

"I am also green," I responded with a smile. If he could say something obvious why could I not do the same? My reply seemed to freeze the man for a moment but I felt no obligation to wait on him. His horses were fresh and catching up to me would be no problem if they wanted to. After I had pa.s.sed them I made my way over to the verge that was no longer occupied by horses. Gra.s.s was so much nicer to walk on than hard packed dirt. Once I was dozens of strides beyond them I called back. "Thank you for waiting for me but I am in a bit of a hurry. Have a good day." My thoughts were already moving on. What was I going to find in my wood when I arrived? I had never felt so anxious to get home.

"Um... Wait up." He called after me but I did not break my stride. It only took a second until the sound of horse hooves could be heard. "Let me give you my coat," the man said as his horse caught up.

"There is no need to bother with that. It would only get in the way, and as I said, I am in a bit of a hurry." I was thinking of leaving it there, but instead I asked, "Would you know how much further till the woods?"

The man was surprised at my refusal of his coat. But he recovered in a timely fas.h.i.+on. "If we keep this present march up it would be…" He looked over to an older man next to him.

"Just over a day, my Lord. You could be there a few hours after dark if the horses could see."

"Thank you. It looks like my estimate was correct," I said with a small smile.

The 'Lord' and his men continued to ride trailing behind me. I could hear some whispering from the men near the back but the 'Lord' and those near him were all quiet. I looked over at the 'Lord' and caught him staring at me.

I let out a small laugh despite my anxious heart. It seemed like I would not be able to get them to leave so easily. "I believe that it would be considered proper to introduce yourself to a Lady before ogling her," I said.

The 'Lord' turned bright red as he quickly turned his head away. He seemed surprisingly innocent for being the man in charge of this company. "P-pardon me. I have seldom had the chance to gaze on a woman's form. It is quite breathtaking…. I mean you are…. Ah…." Other than Leafia, I hadn't known a person's face could get that red. However, the compliment caught me a little off guard and it was my turn to blush a little in response. I had never been so openly praised before. The next bit he said all in a rush. "As you said I have not properly introduced myself. I am Austen, Second prince of the Franklin Dukedom." He then took a breath and calmed down. Or so I thought, "I-i-if it is not too b-bold to ask may I know your name?"

"I am Laurel, the Dryad," I said while lowering my head. After I raised my head again I saw the prince fighting to keep his eyes on my face. I guess this was a bit too much stimulation for him. Since I had a feeling I would be with him much of the day, I thought it would be considerate to give him a break. There was a bright flash of light as my skin was once again covered in birch bark. After walking in the sun for more than two days, I now had more than enough energy to make it to my woods at this pace. Besides, the poor 'Lord,' (Austen, was it?) already looked ready to explode. "Since I am nearing my destination, I thought I would use some energy and spare you my unsightly appearance."

"But it was very lovely. I wish you didn't ch..." The prince said slightly longingly but then quickly covered his own mouth. The older man next to him was shocked at his words and everyone fell silent.

I let the tension linger in the air for a moment before I started to laugh. After a moment several other men joined in. However, the prince and his man still had concern on their faces. "Thank you, young prince I greatly needed a laugh. I shall keep this method in mind for the next time I need to relieve some stress."

The prince stayed bright red for a little while before managing to relax. The older man next to him also seemed to relax and turned to the prince. "Do you mind if I address our traveling companion?"

"Please go ahead, Sir Gareld."
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"Lady Dryad, you said your name was Laurel. Am I correct in a.s.suming that is after the name of the great woods?"

Oh, Faun would die laughing at this mis-speak. Thinking of her caused a pang of worry. "No," I said, hiding my fears with a smile and a light laugh while Sir Gareld looked surprised. I figured I should explain it better. "I am not named after the woods. It is the woods that bear my name. I did not know that man still recalled the name of my home."

"Pardon me for my lack of manners," he said managing to bow while still on his horse. "We have been asked by Duke Franklin, Prince Austin's father, to investigate rumors that someone has trespa.s.sed into the elven country. You said earlier that you were stressed. Pardon me if this is presumptuous, but does part of the stress you have been feeling have to do with the issues of the elven country?"

"You once again have things backward." Anger boiled up like hot sugar-maple sap at all that has happened to my woods in just a few seasons. My oldest friend was missing and now my new friend might also be gone. Also, those elves made everything harder than it needed to be. Couldn't they all be like Leafy? After a few moments in my anger and frustration, I noticed fear and worry appear on the prince's face. Taking a steadying breath, I realized there was no point in aiming my frustration at these men. But maybe I could vent a little. Since they have already proven useful at helping me calm down somewhat, let's see how much more they can help. "It is not the elves' worry that has me stressed, it is my worry that has the elves stressed. The whole of the woods is my domain. The elves live there because I allow it," I said, allowing some of my pent-up anger to color my voice. Though in truth, I was more feigning anger than truly upset with these men.